"We had been watching these people because they had been purchasing pseudoephedrin," he said.

Article Photos

Chad W. Warner

Trent D. Mason

Pseudoephedrin is a common ingredient used in making meth.

Earlier that night investigators had located Warner's vehicle while parked and had been able to visually observe several of the chemicals used in the meth creation process, officials said.

Later that evening, Warner's vehicle, which was being driven by another individual, was stopped. In the back of the black Chevy truck were several other materials that Warner and Mason had collected over the past two days, officials said.

According to an affidavit of facts, each man had visited a variety of stores to purchase the long list of items.

Through pseudoephedrin logs, the Major Crimes Task Force was able to determine that Warner purchased pseudoephedrin at Kroger earlier that day.

Mason had purchased an instant cold pack, sulfuric acid, and sodium hydroxide from the Marietta Wal-Mart on Wednesday. Mason also purchased a can of Coleman Fuel from the Marietta Kmart.

Mason was also in possession of two Lithium batteries, also used in the making of meth, said Mincks.

Mason and Warner were charged with one count each of illegally assembling drug manufacturing items, a third-degree felony.

"This was a relatively new system for them and they were compiling information from different sources," said Mincks.